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Read all of the latest news, press releases, event reports, findings and updates from German Cooperation work in Afghanistan. Select topics by priority, by province, by date and by news format. For further information, publications, videos and image galleries, either see the related links in the news sections or go to our Media Library.

Children, more than adults, need light, colour and clean air to grow and develop healthily. With many schools in Afghanistan still lacking proper facilities, education authorities are addressing the question of the best environment for schoolchildren to pursue their studies successfully.

The work done on the Govergan and Baladory canals will help improve irrigation for approximately 11,000 hectares of farmland in the districts Pul-e Khumri, Dand-e-Ghori and New Baghlan. In addition, the canals were upgraded to offer better flood protection for approximately 300 hectares of land.

Today, a new school was opened for up to 520 children from internally displaced families (IDPs) and host community families living in the township of Hamdard, near Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province. The school is located in the village’s internal refugee camp and offers the camp’s residents and their children the possibility for a new start in the host community.

The offices will now accommodate independent defense lawyers to offer legal services for the citizens of the provincial capital. While the new office was provided by the local court, the office equipment for the lawyers was funded by the German government’s programme for promoting rule of law in Afghanistan.

The construction now connects 16 villages with the district centre. Villagers now have quick and safe access to healthcare, schools, markets and administrative facilities. The costs of construction to the amount of AFN 16.8 million were financed by the German government.

That was the conclusion of this week’s Media Meeting in Mazar-e Sharif, hosted by the Social Association of Journalists in North Afghanistan (SAJNA) together with Afghan-German Cooperation. The meeting was on coverage of renewable energy in the Afghan press and concluded with journalists and energy experts agreeing that Afghanistan has great potential for energy production based on its natural resources. Sunlight and water could help the country not only become energy-independent but could also turn it into a major exporter of energy for its neighbours.

At Kabul’s Dunya University, 24 employees from the MoMP embarked on eight months of professional training, giving them and the ministry the knowledge and abilities they need to manage extraction of Afghanistan’s mineral assets properly.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Mr Saeed Ahmad Khamoush, Director General for coordination of local councils affairs (GDCLCA), highlighted the importance of Provincial Councils and their oversight function: “The newly elected Provincial Councils ensure the participation of citizens in developing their provinces and support accountability of government to its citizens.“ During the orientation workshop, the new IDLG Director, Ghulam Jelani Popal, promised the new members institutional support from IDLG when fulfilling their functions throughout Afghanistan.

Last week, heads of all provincial and regional offices of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) met at the Civil Service Institute in Kabul to present Afghanistan’s first manual for operations & maintenance of small- to medium-sized infrastructure projects. The new manual can be used by engineers and civil servants based in line departments and responsible for keeping measures running and functional.

Designed as a think- and do-tank, the Governance Forum Afghanistan “Govern4Afg” was launched by German and Afghan partners to establish a joint platform for policy dialogue on governance topics in Afghanistan. Researchers and policy-makers from both countries will provide input to encourage talks and an understanding between stakeholders aimed at strengthening cooperation in developing the governance sector.